A leader needs to have worked on their own personality and have in-depth knowledge of their area of interest. They must be able to learn from their mistakes and weaknesses while staying committed to continual self-improvement. True leaders are honest, patient, empathetic and relate their own experiences to motivate and inspire others through sharing rather than teaching. They appear as a guide who is only one step ahead, maintaining enthusiasm and helping others visualize goals through problem solving tailored to individual needs.
1. What doesitmean tobe a leader?
What skillsare neededtomotivate andinspire others?
I wouldlike tostartwiththe definitionof the wordâleaderâ,the wayIperceive it myself.Tome,the
wordâleaderâreferstoa personwho hasalwaysbeen feelingthe needtotake initiative andguide
others.Sometimeswe hearthe phrase:âHe/She isaborn leader.â
In orderfor somebodytobe a leader,irrespectiveof whichareatheymaybe leadingin,theyneedto
have workedwiththeirownpersonalityfirstandforemost.Thencomesthe subjectof interesttheyare
teaching,whichtheyneedtoknowaswell aspossible. Iamnot goingtouse the wordâperfectlyâ,since
there isno such thingas perfection.(Everybodyâsdefinitionof perfectionisalwaysdifferent.) We can
onlykeepworkinginourareaof interest,toâtouchâperfection.Like humanbeingthatwe are,we will
alwaysbe makingmistakes.Itisinour nature to make them, sothisis acceptable.The âkeyâistolearn
fromthem.A goodleaderisable to gobeyondtheirweaknesses,puttheirEgoaside,andreacha level
where theycankeepâobservingâtheirownselvesobjectively âwithoutjudgingthemselves- inorderto
recognize theirweaknesses,andtherefore actonthem.Theyhave learnthow to forgive themselves,
howto improve theirownselves asfar as theirpersonal growthisconcerned,âhow torespectBOTH
theirownselvesandothers,howtobeâcompassionateâ,âempathicâ,andhave the abilitytorestraintheir
anger,by havingrecognizedthe sharingof the same unpleasantcharacteristicsof otherpeople within
THEIR own selves,andbyhavingstudiedthe humannature indepth.
A âtrueâleaderhasalso âcommitedâthemselvestowhattheydo.Theyhave takenintheirlivesâguidedâ
actionby previous âhealthyâleaders,andare therefore able toguide othersinaâhealthyâway
themselves.Theyare âhonestâtopeople,butfirstandforemosttotheirownselves. Theyalsomake sure
2. that theycan ârelateâtothe personor personstheyhave infrontof them.Theydescribe theirown
experiences,theytalkabouttheirownweaknessesandwhattheydidtoovercome them.Theypresent
themselvesastheyreallywere,orstill are.âWhatyou see iswhatyou getâis the phrase that I think
describesitinthe bestway.
Otherâskillsâthatare neededtomotivate andinspireothers,wouldbe âpatienceâwiththe personsthey
guide,anda âgoodearâ since people feelthe needtobe âheardâandâunderstoodâbyothers.Theyfeel
the needalsoto expressthemselves,sothe leaderstheyneedare personswhohave notbecome
leadersforthe sake of the position,butratherpersonswhoare genuinelyinterestedinthe welfareof
people. So,âhonestyâ,âpatienceâ,âempathyâ,âgeneral knowledge inhumanpsychologyâ,âcontinuous
reflectionononeâsself andEgoâ,âcommitmentâ,ârespectâ,âbalanceâinaleaderâslife andâexperienceâare
necessaryskillsthatatrue leaderwouldbe goodtohave.Alsobeingâawareâthatlearningneverstops,
and theycan learnevenmore fromtheirown people theylead.Ashumanbeingsthatwe are,we have
the tendencytofeel inspiredbysuchpeople,people whohave alreadybeenthroughthese steps,and
whonevergive up.âStudentsâalsofeel motivatedwhentheysee thattheirleaderâbelievesinthemâ and
spendsmuchtime withthem,âsharingâexperiencesandknowledge withthem.âSharingâisthe word
that I put intoquotes,toshowhowimportantitisfor leaderstoâshareâ,insteadof âteachâ.The word
âteachâdoesnotnecessarilymeanthattheyshare, andithas a tendencymore towarda leaderâs
unconscious âmostof the time- expressionof Ego,whereasâsharingâshowsâtrustâtowardthe student,it
showsâopennessâ,itshowsthatthe leaderhassearched,recognizedandacceptedtheirown
weaknesses.Therefore the studentsfeel theyhave infrontof themaleaderwhomtheycantrust, since
admittingourownweaknessesandselfishbehaviours,isthe mostdifficulttraitthatwe can achieve.
Andwhenthe leaderspendsmuchtime withthem, atsome pointtheyfeel thattheyare worth
somethingtooafterall! Asfar as hearingwhatisvalidandwhat isnot,the studentsâEgomaybe hurtin
the beginning,buttheywilleventuallyappreciate theirleaderforbeinghonestwiththem. One more
3. skill thatcomeseffective inleadingpeople,isthata goodleadermakessure toappear ONLYone step
aheadof theirstudents,sothatthe students wouldnotbe feelingdiscouragedinfrontof a âGeniusâas
theywould perceivethem.
âEnthusiasmâwouldbe one more characteristicthatwouldmotivate others,combinedwithâvisionâ. By
enthusiasmIdonot meanthat a leadershouldbe describingthe goodeffectsinanexcessiveunrealistic
way,but rathershowpeople towhatârealisticâextenttheywouldbe able toreach,andhow that
achievementontheirpartwouldbe recognizedandappreciated.Dotheycrave for somethingbetter
than that?Then itwouldbe up to themandtheireffortsandTHEIR own skills âorfurtherworkontheir
skills- toreachone more level upthe ladderof success. Asfaras âvisionâisconcerned,itisbeingused
alreadybymany leadersintheireffortstohelptheirfollowersâvisualizeâthe level onwhichtheywishto
findthemselves.Howdoesitlooklike intheirminds?How doesit feel like?Are there anysounds,orany
smells?Howare theyimaginingtheirownselveswithinthatvision?
A goodleaderalsohelpspeopleâthinkâ.He orshe helpsthemâanalyseâTHEIRownsituation,andtheir
responsibilityinthe specificsituation.Theyhelpthemstartstudyingtheirownselves,sothatthey
wouldbe able toâfeelâsubconsciouslythe reasonswhytheyare actinga certainway.Thisisa very
importantpointtopay attentionto,whereas inthe contrarymethodof âteachingâ,people do
comprehendthe newinformationconsciously,buttheirteacherfails inhelpingthemabsorbitintheir
subconsciousmind. Like we use tosay:âIt entersfromthe one ear, andit exitsfromthe other.â
A goodleaderalsorespectsthe lowerlevel onwhichsomebodymaybe.Theyrealizetheyneedtofind
the most appropriate way âaccordingto somebodyâsneeds-topresentthe new information,soanother
necessary skill of theirs,wouldbe âproblemsolvingâ.